80 care jobs at risk amid Sheffield Council budget cuts

Dan Hobson

More than 80 care jobs are at risk as Sheffield Council strives to slash its budget by £50 million.

Proposals to cut 87 full-time jobs from the Short Term Intervention Team, which provides short term support to people after an illness or spell in hospital, have been put forward by the council.

The authority is now consulting with its staff and unions about the proposals, which aim to make the service run more efficiently.

Phil Holmes, director of adult services at Sheffield Council, said: “The financial pressure in adult social care means we absolutely have to make sure all of our services run as efficiently as possible.

“Our proposals have been designed to make sure those who need short term support after a period of ill health continue to receive it.

“This is a challenging time for staff who have shown true professionalism and dedication.

“We’re continuing to consult with them and the unions on the changes and will look to limit any redundancies through redeployment.”

An employee, who did not wish to be named, said he had already received his redundancy.

He said: “I’ve been working there over 30 years and it’s goodbye, just like that.

“There’s a lot of experienced staff working there who will be out of a job. You just can’t buy experience like that.

“I do worry about the effect it will have on the people who use the service. It’s them I worry about most.”

Sheffield Council said the proposals have been developed to ‘reduce duplication in the service and make it run more efficiently’.

The changes include reducing the size of the management structure, reducing bureaucracy and more efficient planning of work to reduce unnecessary travel time.

The proposed new structure will reduce the service from 248 full time equivalent positions to 161.

Sheffield Council said it is ‘committed to minimising any redundancies through redeployment and voluntary early retirement’.